MLB has a cumulative ERA of 3.35, the only team that seems to have escaped this pitching swoon are the New York Yankees, who’s team ERA pushed 5.00. The same New York Yankees who spent what some have called an obscene amount of money, $234.5 million, signing the likes of C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett to multi-year contracts in 2009.

What may seem obscene to some, one could argue it helped buy/earn the Yankees their 27th World Series title last season. However that was then and this is now.

If you survey the landscapes of the teams in this postseason, the evidence of pitching depth becomes more and more prevalent, as does the time tested argument that pitching and defense wins championships.

The Yankees may have had the deepest of all rotations having the likes of Sabathia, Pettite, Hughes and the beleaguered Burnett, however of all the teams this post season, none had higher expectations then the reigning champs.

Unfortunately for the Bronx Bombers, their pitching depth didn’t translate into a World Series berth this time around. How sad.

As Major League Baseball slowly recovers from the “Steroid era”, a pitching renaissance has occurred the likes of which hearkens back to the mid sixties to early seventies.

In 1965 the Minnesota Twins were offensively what the Yankees are today and were shutout a mere three times that year. That was until Sandy Koufax shut them out twice in October alone – blanking the Twins on just two days rest in game seven of the 1965 Series.

In 1968, Bob Gibson’s Cardinals took on Mickey Lolich’s Detroit Tigers and in the series opener, Gibson tossed a five-hit shutout striking out seventeen. Unfortunately for Gibson, it was Lolich and his Tigers who bested the Cardinals in ’68.

Flash forward to 2010 and the Phillies Roy Halladay joined baseball immortality when he pitched just the second perfect game in Postseason history when he beat Cincinnati this past October 6th.

Philadelphia has employed the three-headed monster approach, with a formidable rotation of Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels. While the Phillies shared in the Yankees postseason misfortunes this year – again so sad – it’s an approach that historically has yielded results   The 1970 World Champion Baltimore Orioles had three twenty game winners in Jim Palmer, Dave McNally, and Mike Cuellar. Take the 1995 World Champion Braves whose rotation included future Hall of Famers, Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz.

According to Greek mythology, Cerberus is the three headed beast which guards the gates to Hades. As a Met fan is it really a mystery that the gates to hell lead to downtown Philly and Atlanta?

The San Francisco Giants and the Texas Rangers have featured their own pitching triple-punches and may very well ride them to the gates of postseason heaven. Cliff Lee, C.J. Wilson and Colby Lewis have led the charge for the Rangers past the reigning champion Yankees while Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and Jonathan Sanchez are San Francisco’s treats. The Rangers have a postseason team ERA of 2.76 and the Giants have sported an even more minuscule 2.47.  Is it any wonder why these two teams have earned the right to play in the Fall Classic?

All of this has led me to reflect on the Mets pitching staff. The general consensus is that the Mets never really needed another front line pitcher. Understandably the Mets were offensively woeful partially because it’s star center-fielder missed the majority of the season and it’s newly acquired power bat in left field was anything but powerful, not to mention the time it’s star lead-off hitter spent on the disabled list. All valid reasons for their anemic offense. Not necessarily excuses – just facts.

The 2010 Mets lost 26 games by one run this season. In those 26 losses the Mets gave up an average of 4.5 runs per game and scored 3.69 runs in that span. Of the 26 games, 18 were started by someone other than Santana or Pelfrey.

Now, would the Mets have had a better chance of winning any of those 18 games if they had a front line arm at their disposal, more so than another bat? If they won 12 of those 18 games, the Mets would have won 91 games – the same total as the National League Wild Card Braves

Of course this is all moot and pie in the sky speculation. The Mets arguably could have prospered just as much if not more than from a potent hitting outfielder. And yes we all know by now all the reasons nothing was done to bring anyone in. Like I said it’s just idle speculation and if anything, it shows you just how important a one run loss in May can effect what you’re doing come October.

The Mets this season have fielded about 15 players who have actually contributed – a far cry from the normal 25 man roster. Let’s reminisce and go back to early Spring – Port St. Lucie – when hope was abundant – when we all thought Oliver Perez was rip roaring and ready to hit the ground at CitiField running, repaired “injured” knee and all.

The Mets were unable – or unwilling – to land a starting pitcher this past off season. The Mets were forced to enter the 2010 season with Johan Santana leading a staff of Mike Pelfrey, John Maine, Oliver Perez and Jon Niese or as I always liked to call it – One man and a little hazy.

How pathetic in retrospect is that rotation? Santana aside, Pelfrey and Niese were the only two usable arms in that cadre and as the year progressed we had the opportunity to see Hisanori Takahashi start as well as the emergence of knuckleballer R.A. Dickey. Even with the surprisingly productive year of Dickey, the Mets at times this year, were just getting by with 3 reliable arms – sometimes even less.

The lineup envisioned by the powers that be included the bats of Rod Barajas, Luis Castillo, Jason Bay, Jeff Francouer and returning from injuries Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran.

At times this season, Jerry Manuel’s lineup card might as well been partially left blank since more times than not there were at least four slots in the Mets lineup virtually unproductive. No team can compete for a championship with a handicap like that.

Take Rod Barajas who started the season on a torrid pace blasting 11 homeruns in his first month in Queens alone. After that glorious month, a picture of Rod Barajas’ Louisville slugger found it’s way on the side of milk cartons in local area bodegas. He hit an appalling .225 with 12 home runs, 34 RBI and a .677 OPS until being claimed off waivers by Los Angeles.

Luis Castillo. What can we say about Louie that hasn’t been already? He’s regressed worse than Chevy Chase’s career with a decaying range at second base that at this rate I bet Betty White can out-field our second baseman – but he found the stones to demand a trade for lack of playing time. Good idea Louie Louie and we gotta go, hey hey hey hey.

The outfield for the Mets this year has been a mishmash of players getting and returning from injury. Francoeur, a former “Natural” standout player with a great personality that has unfortunately seen his best days pass him – was sent packing from Atlanta last year and recently was traded to Texas. Francoeur’s numbers as a Met – .225 BA, 10 HR, 41 RBI, and a .836 OPS. A good guy who gave 110% – too bad it was 110% of Jeff Francouer baseball. There was a reason Bobby Cox let him go. Still doubt his baseball acumen?

Jason Bay was brought in with the intention of powering the offense. A poor man’s Matt Holliday – if you want to call a $66 million dollar contract poor – Bay has never seemed quite comfortable in the confines of CitiField. An assessment of Bay’s production last year showed that the majority of his round trippers were dead pull shots at Fenway. Considering left field at Citi fares no worse than Fenway- in fact slightly better considering the lack of the Green Monster – it was safe to assume Bay would do quite well at CitiField.

Of course Jason decided to become more of a gap hitter at Citifield thus ending that assumption. Bay’s numbers this year, .259 BA, 6 HR, 47 RBI and a .749 OPS. To add injury to insult, Bay ingloriously ended (perhaps?) his 2010 season when he slammed his head into the outfield fence in L.A., catching a fly ball, earning a concussion. Somewhere Ryan Church is popping an Excederin in solidarity.

Here is a list of players whom the Mets could have simply gotten by without –

1. Luis Castillo

2. Rod Barajas

3. Fernando Tatis

4. Alex Cora

5. Mike Jacobs

6. Gary Matthews Jr.

7. Jeff Francoeur

8. Jason Bay

9. John Maine

And last but certainly not least in all our hearts….

10. Oliver Perez

So Mets fans, stand up and give your team some credit here.  With the group of players ownership has given them to work with this year it’s absolutely a shock that the Mets have the respectable (albeit losing) record they have – so far.  Here’s to finding the silver lining and to hoping that the Mets keep bucking the trend through the remainder of the season.  Hopefully they can salvage what little baseball is left for them.

The way the Mets have played this year have at times been quite frustrating, however, as fellow MMO writer Ed Leyro pointed out the Mets since starting the season at 4-8 have a record of 35 and 22.. That’s pretty damn good no matter how you dissect it.

The road has been this teams’ nemesis, sporting a record of 15-20. However this past week, these GoodFellas seem to be re-writing this season’s script having won 7 of their last 9 on the road.

The culmination of which ended Sunday in Yankee stadium as the Mets finished the 2010 Subway Series with a split, having won 2 out of 3 at Citifield and losing 2 out of 3 at Yankee Stadium.

If fortune really does favor the bold, then the next few weeks will probably determine the course the Mets take for the remainder of the season. Rumors and hopes of trading for a starter continue to meander around. Whether it be Lee, Oswalt or a cavalcade of lesser talents, a move does seem to be quite inevitable if not necessary.

Yet one thing remains constant with this team and thankfully so; they are gamers. Be it a result of the past few debacle seasons where the Mets self-destructed their way into the bowels of sports history or an organizational wide feeling that this is it –do or die– or expect wholesale changes.

The Mets, even in their losses, never fail to give 100 percent. Regardless our collective opinions of Jerry Manuel, he does deserve credit for demanding and eliciting this effort.

Take into account there are only 2 teams that seem to have had the Mets number so far this year. All in all, in spite of their issues, in spite of all of our griping, most of which is valid, the Marlins have won 6 out of 10 games against the Mets and the Nationals have won 5 out of 8. Those two teams have done the most damage to the Mets in 2010. Unfortunately both are divisional rivals, neither of which Ryan Howard or Roy Halladay play for.

There are 3 prominent axioms in baseball that have stood the test of time. Two of those being that pitching and defense wins championships. June has been a complete swoon for the Mets pitching staff having posted a 13-4 record and an ERA around 3. Defensively the Mets have committed 36 errors which ranks them 4th in the NL, with only 9 accounted so far in June.

The third axiom; to contend you have to play at least .500 on the road. Few teams have made the playoffs with losing road records. The latest being the 2008 White Sox when they compiled a 35-46 road record. The 2006 St Louis Cardinals bucked the trend. They finished that season with a road record of 34-47, and a World Series Championship.

Only two other teams in the last 15 years have won the World Series with a losing road record, both of which are the Florida Marlins of 1997 and 2003. It’s not impossible to win it all with a losing road record, but trepiditiously difficult.

As we’ve all come to witness, the 2010 Mets are unpredictable. When you think you have them pigeon holed as a certain “type” of team, anchoring the bottom of the National League East, they flick the switch and shift into that extra special gear. Win or lose, these Mets are warriors.

Considering what we’ve all felt the past 3 years it’s hard to find fault with the character of this group. We can’t demand perfection or be deterred by a single loss. Be proud of this team for its hustle and professionalism. Who knows what the next few months have in store.

 ”You know, we always called each other goodfellas. Like, you’d say to somebody: You’re gonna like this guy; he’s all right. He’s a goodfella. He’s one of us. You understand? We were goodfellas, wiseguys…er..ummm….New York Mets.”

To call 2010 a rollercoaster year for the Mets is more than an understatement. To go from worst to first, back to worst and once again to being in contention in a few weeks is borderline manic, and we all admittedly love every moment of it.

The exception being that once again the Mets went on the road this weekend and lost 2 out of 3 games against the Milwaukee Brewers. I think some might call the Mets, Major League Baseballs’ bi-polar boys of summer.

It’s a delicate balancing act keeping our cynicism from overtaking our optimism. It’s no easy task with the 2010 New York Mets. As a writer on MMO I try with due diligence to be a voice that offers an unfiltered and honest view of the New York Mets.

As I’ve aged I’ve taken on a deep disdain for spin, spin in all aspects of life. As a fan it isn’t easy to point out our teams’ faults. As a writer trying to be unbiased it becomes much easier, at least for me. It’s a welcome refuge; but sometimes that refuge can get a little too comfortable.

“The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it’s a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again. Oh… people will come Ray. People will most definitely come. “ James Earl Jones – Field of Dreams

Amazing isn’t it? So much of what we all feel emotionally about this game and the Mets, is distilled in that quote from the memorable movie, Field of Dreams.  It makes you forget the soap opera of New York sports and all of its trappings.

I had to watch it the other day, just to purge myself of the cynicism that occasionally takes up residence in my head. I had to adjust my mind’s pendulum. So much of the joy all of us experience watching the Mets play comes from our love that was formed in our childhood. We had no worries no responsibilities. It was just a game.

Today is Memorial Day and we commemorate those who have died while serving in the military. Today should also be a day to renew ourselves; to swing that pendulum back to the positive.

For me, the love of the Mets was instilled by my father and grandfather. Both of who served in the Army. Grandad served in World War II and dad served right before Vietnam. They taught me the love of the Mets.

None of us want to come across as mind numb lemmings but, and here’s the linchpin, fan is technically short for fanatic. So that said, those of us writers on here are really fans first.

We shared the same unbridled joy as you when Mookie’s grounder went under Buckner’s glove and the same dread when we closed beloved Shea to the second consecutive season ending disaster that was ’08. You can never purge the fan out of me. I can’t either and I don’t think I’d ever want to.

Thinking of dad and grandad and what today means, brings me hope.

God bless America and to all those who have served and have given their lives so we may all be fanatics of the New York Mets.

Now…back to biz.  I will probably contribute once a week, and I’ll try to make my posts as interactive as possible.  That said, my “Coffee Talk” topic of the week would be Ike Davis.  Since he’s joined the team on April 19, they’ve gone 9-1 on an “amazin” (no irony intended) homestand, on their way into the City of Brotherly Love to reignite the I-95 rivalry versus the hated Phillies.

Is the injection of so-called new blood in the name of Ike Davis like the rug in the movie The Big Lebowski?  While not tying the room together like that blasted rug did, he could very well be tying the team together.

Let’s take a look at the evidence in the form of stats.  In this homestand, which he played in every game, he boasted an impressive line of .355/432/.538 with 1 HR, 6 RBIs and even 5 walks.  What’s more is that he even made some impressive defensive plays at first base, which got first baseman extraordinaire Keith Hernandez to remark on positively in some of the broadcasts.

At the same time, an interesting phenomenon occurred.  Things started to come together.  They won two in a row, lost the third game to the Cubs and won the fourth.  On Friday, April 23, Jerry Manuel decided that change was, indeed, good, and mixed up the lineup with Jose Reyes, perennial lead-off hitter, started to bat third.  Jason Bay, who had yet to impress Mets fans, was batting cleanup, and he started to turn it on as well.  In the last week hitting .333 with 1 HR (his first of the season and as a Met!) and driving in 5 runs.  David Wright got his 1,000th hit.  Mike Pelfrey has barely given up a run.  Mets fans were left wondering “Carlos Who?” with Angel Pagan starting centerfield…okay, that’s a little joke, to see if you were paying attention.  And the bullpen has been more than a pleasant surprise, they’ve been absolutely rocking it so far this season, with head rock star Hisanori Takahashi making us have Darren Oliver chills again as long man in the ‘pen.

One could argue that the lineup change could very well have been the flashpoint of this occurrence.  And who knows, if they continue to roll over the competition, especially in the NL East with the lineup constructed the way it has been since April 23, maybe just maybe the shake up is what the team needed.

I think, however, there is a bit more to the equation than just shifting some players around to get more at-bats in a game.  I’m a firm believer that sometimes young blood can come in and make a change for the better.  According to the Mets 2010 Maple Street Press, Toby Hyde’s Mining for Gold piece ranked Ike Davis the Number One Mets prospect.  After watching his performance in Spring Training this year, it was baffling to this Mets fan why he was not brought up with the team in April, while players like Mike Jacobs and Frank Catalanotto were given a chance to start.  To the naked eye (or super-passionate fan) It was evident that Ike Davis was very well ready for action on the major league level.

The Mets often do things pretty backwards, and I felt this was no different.  As a “for example,” I do not like Jenrry Mejia in the ‘pen right now (I have my asbestos suit on, so flame away).  I will admit that they were quick to right a wrong and bring Ike Davis up to inject life into a team that desperately needed to get a hot start in 2010.  And what happens?  They go on a 9-1 homestand tear and are currently in FIRST PLACE in the NL East, storming across the Delaware River much like General George Washington did in the Revolutionary War.

I consider myself a realistic Mets fan.  I get excited when they win, down when they lose, but I don’t lose sight of the “big picture.”  I know that Mike Pelfrey will not sustain a 0.69 ERA all season and I also know that Ike Davis will come down to earth eventually. Jason Bay and David Wright will continue to be incredibly streaky.  And we’ll still manage to scratch our heads on some patented Manuel Moves.  That’s the realness you get with the Coop, folks.

All I can say right now is IF we are looking back on the season in late September with some fall anticipation in the air, we may just very well look to this homestand as a reason why.

I think that Ike Davis will be a BIG reason why we are considering that as well.

Talk amongst yourselves!

The 2010 reconstruction plan was going to be predicated on three things according to Omar Minaya and Jeff Wilpon; Pitching, Speed and Defense.

The biggest changes to the offense were the additions of Jason Bay, Mike Jacobs, Frank Catalanotto, Rod Barajas, Gary Matthews and Henry Blanco. So much for speed, and only time will tell if there was any improvement on the defensive side of things. We may have gotten a little better behind the plate, but I would hardly call Matthews, Jacobs and Bay defensive upgrades.

The starting rotation will see no changes and of course it goes to say, no upgrades as well. Four-fifths of the rotation will be returning from injuries, while Mike Pelfrey tries to improve on a dismal 2009 season. If any of our starters should falter, it’s not clear who is next on the depth chart after the release of  Nelson Figueroa, and the addition of 20-year old Jenrry Mejia to the bullpen.

At this point, only Pedro Feliciano and Frankie Rodriguez are certainties to make solid contributions in the pen. Everyone after that is basically a roll of the dice. Japanese imports Takahashi and Igarashi have much to prove, and Sean Green has shown very little last season and even less this spring. Waiver wire find, Fernando Nieve was kept over fire-baller Bobby Parnell because he was out of options and not because of an impressive spring.

There are so many question marks and gray areas surrounding the overall makeup of this team. The decision not to add a frontline or even a middle of the rotation starter will loom over Omar Minaya’s head all season.

Jerry Manuel’s insistence to include Jenrry Mejia to the bullpen, and his decision to bat Mike Jacobs in the cleanup spot are just two big things to watch as Manuel’s job could ride on both those decisions.

Of course the Mets will need to have healthy and speedy returns from their catalyst Jose Reyes, and their big gun in centerfield, Carlos Beltran.

All we can ask for at this point is to see the Mets play some competitive baseball and hopefully play some meaningful games in September. Unless things go terribly wrong, I expect the Mets to fulfill those expectations. There’s a lot of “ifs” for us to worry about, but if the core players stay healthy it’s still a very capable team. Add in the one ingredient all contenders rely upon, luck, and anything can happen.

Here’s to seeing it through all the way to a championship in 2010. It may take a miracle this time, but miracles are nothing new to our beloved Mets. As for us fans, all we can do is what we’ve always done, “Ya Gotta Believe”.

Let’s face it, every baseball fan loves opening day, not just because it’s a prelude to summer, but because every team is on a level playing field in the standings and anything can happen.  Well, anything can happen within reason. As Mets fans, we’ve seen bad baseball over the years.  Remember when the team was so bad that they needed to fabricate a slogan, “The Magic is Back?”  It was laughable, but at one point that team (I think it was in 1980?) reeled off like 10 or 12 wins in a row, and the players started to believe that slogan even though they were woefully over-matched on the field.

The 2010 team is very much like the 2009 team, but hopefully without all the injuries.  Still, there are a few holes—most of the starting rotation, parts of the bullpen, second base, catcher and first base are question marks.  But really, if someone offered you Jason Bay, Jose Reyes, David Wright, Carlos Beltran, Johan Santana and K-Rod to start a team, you’d do that in a heartbeat, right?  We have to hope everyone stays healthy and plays to their potential–big ifs, but there could be big payoffs too.

Stranger things have surely happened, and I’m just glad spring is here and we’re talking real baseball again.  Now let’s do our best to strike some fear in the Phillies and the rest of the division.